Duncan Pflaster
Encyclopedia
Duncan Pflaster is an American
Off-Off-Broadway
playwright
, composer
and actor. His first play Wilder and Wilder (a transvestite adaptation of Alice in Wonderland), was produced in 1995 at Florida Playwrights' Theatre
in Hollywood, FL. He now lives in New York
, where many of his plays have been produced in theatre festivals, such as the Spotlight On festival and the Midtown International Theatre Festival.
His plays have often been labeled as magic realism
; they frequently deal with metaphysical or science fiction
plots, such as parallel universes
, cloning
, life extension
, fairy tales and mythology
. His writing often touches on themes of family
, community
, religion
, and homosexuality
. Pflaster is gay
. http://www.buddybuddy.com/pc-writ.html#p
He also writes freelance theatre
reviews for BroadwayWorld.com and HX magazine.
He has written music on SongFight! under the name Level Nivelo - the band name is a reference to the Esperanto
used in Red Dwarf
One-Acts
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and actor. His first play Wilder and Wilder (a transvestite adaptation of Alice in Wonderland), was produced in 1995 at Florida Playwrights' Theatre
Florida Playwrights' Theatre
Florida Playwrights' Theatre or FPT was a 54-seat black box theatre in Hollywood, Florida that was in operation from 1993 to 1999. It was begun by Paul and Angela Thomas, whose goal was to create a small repertory company that would produce new plays and little-known plays, as well as the...
in Hollywood, FL. He now lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where many of his plays have been produced in theatre festivals, such as the Spotlight On festival and the Midtown International Theatre Festival.
His plays have often been labeled as magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
; they frequently deal with metaphysical or science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
plots, such as parallel universes
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
, life extension
Life extension
Life extension science, also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, is the study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan...
, fairy tales and mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. His writing often touches on themes of family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Pflaster is gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. http://www.buddybuddy.com/pc-writ.html#p
He also writes freelance theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
reviews for BroadwayWorld.com and HX magazine.
He has written music on SongFight! under the name Level Nivelo - the band name is a reference to the Esperanto
Esperanto in popular culture
References to Esperanto, a constructed language, have been made in a number of films and novels. Typically, this is done either to add the exoticness of a foreign language without representing any particular ethnicity, or to avoid going to the trouble of inventing a new language...
used in Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
Awards
- Say Something Shocking, or the spit-takeSpit-takeA spit-take is a comedic technique in which someone spits a beverage out of his or her mouth when he or she reacts to a statement. In this context, the word "take" is used in the sense of taking in information. It is similar in construction to the phrase "double-take."Example: Two characters sit...
Play- Winner Spare Change Theater's 2011 One-Minute Play Festival
- The Empress of Sex
- "Audience Favorite", MT Works NewBorn Festival 2011
- Semi-Finalist, About Face Theatre's 2010 XYZ Festival of New Work
- The Thyme of the Season
- 2010 Planet Connections Award, "Outstanding Playwriting for an Adaptation, Revival or Sequel"
- 2010 Planet Connections Award, "Outstanding Costumes" Mark Richard Caswell
- 2010 Planet Connections Congeniality Award - Duncan Pflaster
- 2009 MITF Award, "Outstanding Supporting Actor" for his performance in Kyle Baxter and John Crefeld's I Hate Love.
- Prince Trevor Amongst the Elephants
- 2008 MITF Award, "Outstanding Playwriting for a New Script Play OR Book of a Musical" (Tie with Monica Bauer for The Higher Education of Khalid Amir)
- 2008 MITF Award, "Outstanding Overall Production of a New Comedy Play"
- 2008 MITF Award, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play" Carlos Rafael Fernández (Tie with Eric Percival for Bubby's Shadow)
- 2006 Spotlight On Award, "Best New Play (Writer's Award)"
- Eternity: Time Without End
- 2005 Spotlight On Award, "Best New Play (Writer's Award)"
- 2005 Spotlight On Award, Best Actress Clara Barton Green
- 2005 Spotlight On Award, Best Supporting Actor Jason Specland
- 2005 Spotlight On Award, Featured Actor Joe Fanelli
Works
Full-Length- Sweeter Dreams - A multimedia play about an independent filmmaker in a love triangleLove triangleA love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
with her husband and her leading actor. - 2011 - The Empress of Sex - A sex comedy set in Ancient GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
- 2011 - The Starship Astrov - A play using ChekhovianAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
tropes to explore life on a space ship that doesn't have weekly adventuresStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. - Suckers - A VampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
Play - 2009 - Ore, or Or - A love story about Greed and Lust and Yamashita's GoldYamashita's goldYamashita's gold, also referred to as the Yamashita treasure, is the name given to the alleged war loot stolen in Southeast Asia by Japanese forces during World War II and hidden in caves, tunnels and underground complexes in the Philippines. It is named for the Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita,...
- 2009 - The Thyme of the Season ~or~ A Mid-Autumn Night's Dream - a sequel to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. - 2007 - Admit Impediments - A MusicalMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
about MarriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
- GaySame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, Straight, and ConvenientMarriage of convenienceA marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
- 2007 - The Wastes of Time - A GayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
love story dealing with the generation gapGeneration gapThe generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents....
surrounding the AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
crisis- 2006 - Prince Trevor Amongst the Elephants - A Big EpicEpic theaterEpic theatre was a theatrical movement arising in the early to mid-20th century from the theories and practice of a number of theatre practitioners, including Erwin Piscator, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vsevolod Meyerhold and, most famously, Bertolt Brecht...
Naked ShakespeareanWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Fairy TaleFairy taleA fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
Play - 2005 - Eternity: Time Without End Eleven people come to a secluded beachBeachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
looking for the fountain of youthFountain of YouthThe Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John...
; but when they find it, it's not what they expected - 2004 - Sleeping in Tomorrow - A play about parallel universesParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, in which the main character visits the same cocktail party in different dimensions - 2002 - Dik and Jayne are Not the Same - A play about cloningCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and lesbians - but not about Cloning Lesbians - 2001 - Amazing Dædalus - A play about what happens in the time between mythsGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
- 1998 - Eskimo: The MusicalMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
- Wilder and Wilder - A transvestite adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, crossed with Walk on the Wild Side
One-Acts
- Patrick and Lisa's Wedding A bridesmaid ducks out of the wedding reception of her ex-boyfriend, and ends up bumping into the young bride, who is having second thoughts about her new husband.
- Pinhead A partnered Gay man brings home a young man to seduce, and is caught by his partner.
- The Fugly Train Two young pretty women have a philosophical crisis on the subwayRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
. - Six Silences in Three Movements An experimental work which contrasts the things people don't say in a relationship.
- Hold Thy Peace, Thou Knave Backstage at a production of Twelfth Night, a last-minute understudy for Sir Toby Belch goes a little haywire onstage, causing consternation amongst the rest of the cast.
- First to Fall Asleep A dark comedy about frat hijinx that get out of hand when a freshman passes out at a frat party.
External links
- The Plays of Duncan Pflaster
- Duncan's playwright listing on Doolee.com
- Duncan in the "P" listings of On the Purple Circuit, a listing for GLQBT playwrights
- January 2010 Interview for StageBuzz.com
- Podcast Interview from mikeypod.com, promoting Admit Impediments
- March 1998 Interview with Duncan (from an Anthony LaPaglia fansite)
- Poem inspired by Amazing Dædalus by an actress in one of the college productions